Adult adoptee access to original birth certificates. When a NYS child (including a child in foster care) is adopted, s/he is forever cut off from legal access to their original birth certificate and any identifying information concerning their birth families, even if adopted by kin. When birth records were closed in New York in 1938, the world of adoption was dramatically different than it is today. Today, NYSCCC and others recognize the importance of connections to our biological history and support NYS legislative changes to ensure that every adoptee has a legal right to their original birth certificate. For an excellent summary of the history and arguments in support of adoptee access, see the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute’s report, For the Records II, and visit Unsealed Initiative to view new proposed NYS legislation to allow adoptees over age 18 access to their original birth certificates. Additional resources you will find here include NYSCCC's list of Adoptee and Relative Search Resources and selected articles on considerations for choosing open adoption.